Over-the-top display rotator



Oct. 7, 1930. A. w. JOHNSON OVER-THE-TOP DISPLAY ROTATOR Filed June 24, 1929 2 SheetsSheet 1 Oct. 7, 1930.

"\A W. JOHNSON oVER-THE-TOP DISPLAY RoTA'roR Filed June 24, 1929 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Oct. 7, 1930 UNITED 'STATES PATENToFFlCE c ARTHUR w.V JOHNSON, or LA GROSSE, wisconsin OVER-THE-Tor YDISPLAY RoTAr'on Application led June 24,

`This invention relates to display devices and particularly to such, devices for the display of foliated articles like sheets of paper, sample books and similar objects.

i 5 The main objects of this invention are to 15 tionally strong andsuited to its particular purpose.

In the accompanying drawing, 1 Fig. l-is a front view of the device according tothe invention, y A

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof, Fig. 3 is a view of the mounting plate with ,fasteningrodandvpart of thearms of Y the holders in section,

Fig. 4 is a view of the holder prongs, Fig. 5 is a-section thereof,and Fig. 6 is a diagram of the stamping for a holder.

A In order to simplify the drawing, only two material holders are shown, one 'of them with samples attached to'V it;l but, it` is `of course Vunderstood that any suitable number of 1holders can beused."y

Referring n ow tothe figures, like numbers being used to'indicate like parts indifferent views, 1 is amounting plate which may be fastened to any kind Voi suitable easel, stand, table, etc., bymeans of screws or nails inserted through holes 3. `This plate is provided with two` flanges 2 with vholes .4 and with a turned-up part `5. The U-shaped holders 6 have two arms with holeslS, and

. prongs 9 at the corners., The flange 14not only contributes to the, rigidity of the holder,

butserves also asa .backing strip. and dis- 1929. Serial No.. 373,382.

tancer Afor the articles to be .fastened Ato the holder, as will be described later on.

Mounting plate and holders are made from sheet metal, by Stamping, bending and rolling and the design of these parts isparticularly adapted to this method ofproduction. While the manufacture of these parts from sheet metal will notvpresent any dilculties to those skilled in the `ar't,.the peculiar and simple manner of making the `holders and particularly the prongs of these holders is considered to be part of the present invention. In order to obtainA these, prongs, the outer straight edge 15 of` a iiatstamping,

. as shown in Fig. 6, is rolled over `along line 16 as indicated in this figure. The band is split over the desired length of the prongs so as to form the two halves17 and 18 of the prongs 9, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The

, flange 14; is formed by bending the sheet `,on

line 19, whereupon the arms are obtained by making a bend at 20. A. l

While I found it most suitable Ato make mounting plate and1 holders off sheet material by means of punching'andbending, thel shape and design of these parts lending itself most readily to this inexpensiveA method -of production, the may, of course, be made of any other suita le material by any convenient method. c

The holders are fastened to the `mounting plate by means of a rod 10 with a U-shaped deformation 11 near its middle,A this deformation being adapted to be` engaged and disengaged with part 5 by.v turning the rod`` around its longitudinal axis, whereby it can be locked in position llshow-nVin full lines in Fig. 1, whereas it isinsertedin vposition 12 shown in dotted lines in the same figure.

For using the device, mounting plate 1 without holders'and rod, is fastened to any convenient support. VThe samples are to be provided with holes corresponding to Aprongs .9, which areinserted in these holes, whereupon the protruding ends "of the fprongs are Eil forced apart in the manner of split rivets. The flange 14 acts hereby as a backing strip and distance piece for the samples. It prevents their distortion by keeping the upper edges straight and in line and it also prevents any injury due to compression, etc., which might be caused by adjacent holders and samples. Any convenient number of holders is then attached to the mounting plate by means of the rod inserted in position l2 and then locked by turning it into position l1, as described above. In many cases it will be desirableto join a plurality of holders to one unit by permanent or semipermanent means, so that. they may bev mounted and removed together, as', for instance, in cases where a set of sample books is furnished, which is then exchanged for a set of books previously in use. '.The joining of the holders may, for instance, be accom- Vplished with hollowl rivets or bushings 21, as shown in Fig. 3, these rivets having holes adapted to receive with sulllcient play the rod l0.V This arrangement permits the free rotation of the holders so that the sample books can be easily turned over.

It will ybe readily seen that a stand with mounting plate has to be furnished only once while the display objects cank easily be changed by means of the holders which may be furnished together with the samples, separately or in sets, or may be used over and over again, whereby the changing ofY the samples is very much simplified, because it can be conveniently performed while the holders are detached from the mounting plate and stand.

The mounting plate may be arranged in any convenient way, for instance so that the samples are lying on a table While Abeing inspected or so that they hang vertically. A preferred manner of mounting is indicated in Figs. l and 2, 22 being the front board of a conventional easel to which the mounting plate is fastened. Such an arrangement permits Yconvenient inspection of the samples, each book being turned over as it is not needed any more, thereby being removed from the front of the easel and entirely out of the way.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. In a device for displaying foliated material, a mounting plate, a plurality of material holders, a' rod-shaped memberinserted in corresponding co-aXial perforations of mounting plate and holders and locking means Afor removably engaging the rod with said mounting plate, said locking means comprising a deformation on said mounting plate and a cooperating deformation on said rod.

2. In a display device, a mounting plate having co-axial perforations and an appendage protruding therefrom, a plurality of material holders having co-aXial perforations, a-

rod having'a VU-shaped deformation, adapted to be inserted in the corresponding perforations of mounting plate and holders and locked in said position by engaging said deformation with said appendage by rotating said rod.

3. In a device of the character described, a mounting plate comprising a base, a plurality of co-aXially perforated flanges and a protruding appendage, material holders having co-aXial perforations, and a rod member for hinging the holders to the mounting plate by inserting it in the corresponding perforations, said rod member having means for engaging said appendage to hold said rod member in operative position.

4. In a device forv displaying foliated material, a mounting plate having co-aXially perforated flanges, a plurality of U-shaped matev rial holders comprising co-aXially perforated arms and prongs for fastening the material, and a rod adapted to be engaged in the perforations of said flanges and arms to pivotally secure said material holders to .said mounting plate.

5. A device for displaying objects, consisting of a mounting plate with two flanges and an appendage protruding between said flanges, a plurality of U-shaped holders with perforated arms and prongs for fastening the display objects, and a rod with a U-shaped deformation corresponding to said appendage, said rod being'adapted to hinge the holderseXchangeably to the mounting plate by inserting it through the perforations of flanges and arms, and-to be kept in position by engaging said deformation with said appendage.

' 6. In a device of thecharacter described, a lsubstantially U-shaped materialholder of sheet metal consisting of a back flange, two arms bent backward from said/flange and perforated at their ends, a supporting flange bent at right-angles from one of the long sides of said back flange, the free edge of said supporting flange extendingrbeyond said arms in the form of two strips, said edge being bent over and the strips split so as to form prongs.

p7. In a device for displaying foliated material, a mounting platev having coaXially perforated flanges, a plurality of U-shaped material holders comprising coaXially perforated arms and prongs for fastening the material, said holders being attached to each other by means. having an aperture concentric with said perfor'ations and permitting rotation ofY said holders, and a rod adapted to be engaged in the perfo'rations of said flanges and the apertures ofsaid attaching means.

8. A device of the character described consisting of a mounting plate with two flanges and an appendage protruding between said ilanges, a plurality of U-shaped material 'holders of sheet metal, consisting of back flanges, arms bent backward from said flanges and perforatedA at theirI ends, supporting 

